Battle of Guadalcanal

The Battle of Guadalcanal was a long and hard-fought battle between the United States and Japan which occurred from 7 August 1942 to 9 February 1943 during World War II. The US Marine Corps invaded the island of Guadalcanal to prevent the Japanese from cutting off Allied reinforcements to New Guinea with a new airbase in the Solomon Islands. The Allies secured the half-completed Japanese airbase and converted it into a US Air Force airbase known as "Henderson Field", and the Allies defended the airbase from wave after wave of suicidal Japanese attacks. Seven naval battles were fought off Guadalcanal during the campaign to take the island, and the Americans succeeded in disrupting the "Tokyo Express", the Japanese supply convoys sent to provide reinforcements and supplies to the Imperial Japanese Army troops on the island. On 9 February 1943, the Japanese forces were forced to evacuate Guadalcanal, and the Americans were now on the offensive for the first time, with the "Oriental blitzkrieg" ending in failure.